


Waiting for you

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley Friendship, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Slow Burn, The Golden Trio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-10-18 11:29:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20638415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Draco Malfoy has come to terms that he has a desperate crush on Harry Potter. When he is able to redeem himself in the eyes of the golden trio he finds himself with the only real friends he's ever had. When Draco keeps finding himself in dangerous situations he can't help but think is being a good person really worth it.





	1. Chapter 1

~ Draco ~

After weeks of contemplating he had made his decision. He was going to apologize to Harry Potter, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was nervous. Harry Poter had occupied his mind for years and at some point, Draco had come to terms with the fact that he had a crush on him. He had tried so desperately to forget about Potter but nothing worked. He boarded the train and walked down the length of the hallway. He settled himself into an empty compartment and moved to lean against the window. Draco sat contemplating how on earth he would apologize to the chosen one, that was until he heard the whisper of an all too familiar voice.

“Malfoy.”

Of course. He looked around the empty compartment, trying to figure out how he had heard Potters' voice. It was at that time Potter pulled off his invisibility cloak. Draco gasped in shock. Potter laughed as he placed his invisibility cloak into his pocket.

“Bloody hell Potter!” said Draco angrily.

Potter was laughing, Draco couldn’t help himself from smiling, it was the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. 

“You should have seen your face!” Potter said between laughs.  
Draco rolled his eyes. 

“How long have you been here?” asked Draco.

“As long as you,” said Potter plainly.

“Why are you here?” asked Draco.

Potter shrugged and leaned back against the window.

“Wanted to get away,” he replied.

“Oh, the chosen one has too many friends,” Draco said.

“More like too much attention,” said Potter rolling his eyes.

They sat in silence for a while. Draco stared at his palms. Potter looked out the window. After a while, Potter broke the silence.

“Hey, Malfoy…. Erm… I’m sorry I almost killed you in sixth year.” Potter stammered. Draco was shocked. He had never expected the golden boy of the wizarding world to apologize to his former enemy.

“Umm, it’s okay, your forgiven.” Draco managed to spit out. 

How did he make apologizing so easy? Potter turned to face the window again. Draco felt his heart beating in his chest. How could Potter be so perfect? His hair was so beautiful, carelessly hanging over his face. Draco was interrupted from admiring Potter when someone walked into their compartment. Draco glanced back. It was Granger and the weasel. 

“Harry, what is he doing here?” Weasley said with annoyance.

“Sitting,” replied Potter calmly.

“And why is he here?” asked Granger.

“I came to talk to Potter,” said Draco.

Potter shot a confused glance at Draco before returning to his friends. They sat for a while talking to each other, they looked so happy and careless. After the war, he figured they would close themselves off but they looked happier than ever.

“How was your summer Malfoy?” asked Potter. 

Draco had hardly heard the question.

“It was fine Potter, how was yours?”

“Really great thanks, I got to stay at the burrow,” he said with a smile.

“Didn’t you miss your muggles waiting on your every need,” Draco replied.

Weasley glared at Draco. Potter just shrugged and looked out the window. They continued laughing and talking, Weasley was now visibly ignoring Draco. Draco didn’t mind, he just wondered what he had done. Probably nothing, Weasley was an obnoxious prat. Draco sat with his thoughts, trying to figure the best way to apologize. 

About ten minutes later he heard the wesalette at the door.  
“Slug club guys, come on,” she said.  
Granger and Potter stood up walked out the door.  
“Catch you later Malfoy,” Potter said as he left.

Weasley didn’t move he just sat and stared out the window. It was an uncomfortable silence. Draco didn’t much mind quiet and he was quite used to feeling uncomfortable.  
“I don’t trust you Malfoy, why have you been trying to talk to Harry?” he asked.  
“What are you, his bodyguard?” replied Draco.  
“He saved my life… he literally died for me, for everyone,” Ron stammered. “He deserves happiness and I won’t let you prevent him from having it Malfoy, so why are you talking to him?” he finished.  
“I'm not going to do anything to him,” Draco said unamused.  
“I don’t buy that,” said Ron coldly. He stood up quickly an grabbed Dracos collar before he could react.  
“I think you blame him for your father's trip to Askaban and even if you don’t you can’t start commenting on things that you don't know anything about.” Weasley was angry now.  
“I didn’t-”  
“You don’t know half of the things he’s gone through so watch your mouth Malfoy,” he spoke almost in a whisper, “and tread fucking lightly.” Draco gasped as Weasley dropped his collar and shoved him back down to his seat.

The ride continued in silence. Draco was too full of shock to speak. He tried so desperately to interpret what Weasley had meant but had come up with nothing. His thoughts quickly drifted to Potter, how beautiful he was, and then to Weasley, he felt annoyed about how close the two were, and then to straight-up jealousy. Draco dropped his head into his hands, jealous of a Weasley, he couldn’t believe himself.

As they were nearing Hogwarts, Potter and Granger came back into the compartment. Draco didn’t dare say anything deciding that Weasley's words were anything but a joke. The golden trio talked, and smiled, and had fun. Draco envied Potters' friends for being able to make him laugh. Draco had always wanted to be Potters friend…. or more than that. But he could see why Potter turned him down in first year. It took him 8 years to realize how much of a git he’d been to the other students. He was trying to be kinder or at least he wasn’t going around saying insults to anyone who annoyed him. 

As they boarded off the train Draco couldn't help but watch Potter, or try to. He had evidently forgotten to put his invisibility cloak on for he was surrounded by a mob of excited students. He finally understood that Potter had never wanted attention, especially now. Potter met Draco's eyes and Draco’s heart fluttered in his chest. Draco avoided the mob as he walked towards the castle. Harry Potter had Draco's heart in a knot and he didn’t even know it.


	2. The night walks of Harry Potter

~ Harry ~

It was hard to go back to Hogwarts. The memories were still sad, the pain was to fresh. Hermione had assured him he’d be fine but he wasn’t so sure. Crowds were still swarming him as he walked into the great hall. He quickly took a seat with his fellow Gryffindors. Ginny smiled at him. They had broken up, but they were both happier now. To be honest, Harry had closed himself off from most people after the war, he had started taking long walks, every day and at night too if he had nightmares. He walked around the hills surrounding the Burrow and through the fields. It was lovely to be alone, truly alone. No-one wanted anything from him, it felt like even after everything, everyone still felt he owed them something. Harry couldn’t help feeling that he would never be good enough. He pushed those thoughts from his mind and brought his attention to what seemed to be a very heated discussion about Quidditch. Harry didn’t eat anything. He didn’t want to. He glanced around the Great Hall, he felt many eyes staring at him. He looked towards the Slytherin table and met eyes with Malfoy who quickly looked away. Harry returned to his friends and listened to them a little while longer. When they left the Great Hall he decided to go on a walk. He nodded to Ron and Hermione, they gave him a nod of understanding as he left.

The air was cold and crisp as he walked outside. Leaves had started to fall from the trees. Harry walked around the castle. No one cared what he did anymore, not even the ministry. The lake looked calm and beautiful as he walked towards it. Harry found a tree and sat at its base. He sat there for a while, simply thinking and enjoying the silence. It was dark now, but still, he wanted to stay here. Away from the pressures of real life. He drifted off to sleep without even trying, he was at peace so it was easy.

He awoke again in the middle of the night, his sleep was dreamless which surprised him but he actually felt quite rested. Shortly after the war, Harry had discovered that dreamless sleep potion didn’t work on him so he was used to having nightmares every night. He decided to go back to the castle. If he wasn’t back by morning his friends would worry about him. He walked silently through the castle, no longer caring who saw him and headed straight to the Gryffindor common room. Harry wasn’t sure if he could fall asleep again tonight so when he arrived he simply sat in front of the fire. He felt his eyes grow tires and so he headed up to his dorm where he made it to bed and fell asleep.

“We have to kill the boy,” said a voice. “If we can the dark lord will be victorious.”

“Ridiculous! The dark lord is dead Robberts, there is no use killing the boy now.”

They were in the shrieking shack, Harry recognized it immediately. This was where Voldemort had spent a significant amount of time plotting. These must be death eaters, they must be talking about him. Harry didn’t recognize either of them. He shouldn’t be able to see this dream, the connection to Voldemort was gone. 

“He’s at Hogwarts! It would be so easy,” said Robberts “he would have no idea.”

“I don’t have a death wish believe or not so I can’t help you,” said the other man, “you're on your own if you're trying to kill the Potter boy, from my experience, it’s not worth it.” He held up his hand and pointed it to the scar on his cheek. 

Harry awoke in a sweat. He looked around to see it was light outside. Most of his dorm mates were already up, Ron being the exception.

“Did you have a nightmare, Harry?” asked Neville.

“Uh yeah, something like that,” Harry replied.

He quickly got up and put some clothes on before heading down to the common room. Sometime last night he had decided that it was too painful to spend time in the great hall. He decided he would just sit in the library until classes started. He waited for Ron and Hermione to come down to tell them his decision. He didn’t expect them to come with him but he knew they would understand. Somehow they knew that Harry blamed himself for a lot of it and so they let him have his space. 

No one was in the library this morning. Harry found a spot at the back of the room. Since there was no homework, he decided to grab a book. He had become quite passionate about reading this summer, using books to whisk him away to different worlds. He grabbed a fairytale called “the tale of the forest fairies” and started reading. No one bothered him all morning and the quiet was quite refreshing. 

Harry’s first class was advanced Potions. He was not prepared, at least Snape was no longer teaching it. He came in and found a spot next to Ron and Hermione.

“How was it, Harry?” asked Hermione.

“Quite good thanks,” he replied.

“Aren’t you starving?” asked Ron.

“Not particularly,” said Harry.

Harry had not eaten as much as he should throughout the summer despite Mrs. Weasley's wishes. Hermione had noticed, she was very observant. Ron didn’t seem to realize. Ron and Hermione started bickering about how much food is appropriate to eat as the rest of the class shuffled in. In front of the trio, Seamus and Dean were talking once again about Quidditch. Across the aisle were Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson who seemed to be arguing about something. Harry layed his arms on the table and put his head down. He wished he could go on a walk but seeing as class was about to start it didn’t seem like the best idea. He sat there with his head in his arms, dreaming about the Hogwarts grounds until the class started.


	3. Dinners at Midnight

~ Draco ~

Draco Malfoy was lonely. He felt empty. He felt scared, an emotion he had only felt a couple of times in his life. He was continuously being threatened and attacked and no one seemed to care. He spent most of his time in the Slytherin common room, keeping to himself. Sometimes he talked with Pansy, she seemed pretty happy since the end of the war. Draco had to remind himself that not everyone was depressed like him, a lot of people had moved on. Like Potter, who seemed to be quite happy. Draco spent time observing the golden trio. They seemed carefree and relaxed. Draco had tried to get his mind off Potter but it was coming seemingly more impossible as the days went on. 

Draco layed in his bed. It was advanced Potions today and Draco was excited. He knew he would ace the class, it was the only class he still exceeded in. He had good grades before the war but his mission last year had severely messed with his studies. Pansy rushed in and gabbed Draco’s wrist.

“Come to breakfast!” she whined.

Draco reluctantly got out of bed and put on his clothes. He went down to the common room to meet Pansy and headed off to breakfast. They spoke of the weather and the changes in the staff. When they entered the common room Draco glanced over to the Gryffindor table, Granger and Weasley were talking happily but Potter was nowhere to be seen. Draco sighed and returned his attention back to Pansy. She told him about her summer home in France, Draco just nodded along.

When they reached Potions Draco could admit he was relieved to see Potter laying his head in his arms. Draco couldn’t help but stare at him, he looked sad. He turned his attention back to Pansy, she was lecturing him about the importance of scarves in Muggle fashion. Draco didn’t have the energy to talk back. Potions went slowly, but Draco found it quite easy. After the class was over Draco ran quickly back to his common room and grabbed his textbooks that he had forgotten that morning.

After ancient runes, it was time for lunch. Draco once again noticed Potters' absence and tried to shove it off. He ate a little bit and sat in silence. He had arithmetics after lunch, and then transfiguration, charms and then dinner. He worked hard in his classes for the rest of the day, trying to ignore the other students angrily cursing him. Draco didn’t feel like eating in the great hall, so he decided to go to the library. 

He entered the library and walked to his usual spot in the back. To his surprise there sat Potter deep in a book. Draco didn’t want to interrupt him so he sat down silently at the other end of the table. He worked for quite a while in silence. But at some point, he couldn’t help himself from asking.

“Why aren’t you at dinner Potter?” Draco said casually.

“I could ask you the same,” he replied.

Typical, thought Draco. They sat in silence until Potter stood up, placing his book on the table.

“Are you hungry Malfoy?” he asked.

Draco shrugged.

“Where are we going to get food at this time?” asked Draco.

“What you've never been hungry past 12:00 am? Come on I’ll show you.” Potter said.

Draco stood up from his chair and followed Potter out of the library. They made small talk as they walked through the silent halls of Hogwarts. Potter stopped walking in front of one of the paintings. It was a simple painting, a bowl of fruit. He watched in silence as Potter reached out and touched his hands to the Pare.

“Wha-”

“You’ll see,” said Potter. 

Suddenly the painting swung open to reveal a room. Potter ducked his head inside and Draco followed quickly. They were in the kitchen. Suddenly dozens of house-elves rushed towards them.

“Harry Potter, Master Harry Potter is here!” they said excitedly. “What can we get Master Harry Potter?”

“Just some dinner and some Pumpkin juice please,” Harry responded politely.

The house-elves rushed around the kitchen, grabbing food as fast as they could. Some of them pulled out a table and placed the platters of food on top of it. Potter sat down and Draco followed suit.

“Thank you… erm… I’ll tell you if we need anything else.” Potter said.

They all bowed their heads and rushed out of the kitchen. 

“Wow, they really like you,” said Draco.

“Uh yeah, I kind of earned a reputation of being nice to house-elves,” Potter said awkwardly.  
“How did you do that?” Draco asked.

“Remember your house-elf Dobby?” asked Potter.

Draco nodded.

“I freed him and they all just kind of liked me after that.”

Draco gasped.

“Oh my goodness, that was you! My father was so angry when you did that, I always figured it was some Ministry guy,” Draco said.

Draco started laughing, a pleasure he hadn’t known in a long time. Potter was laughing too. It was the happiest Draco had felt in years. When the laughing finally stopped Draco was out of breath.

“Potter, how did you find out how to get in here?” Draco asked. 

“Weasley twins,” Potter replied. “They showed me a couple of years ago.” Potter was frowning.

“What were you doing in the library?” Draco asked, quickly changing the subject. 

“I was avoiding the crowds and I found a good book,” he replied, “You?”

“Homework,” said Draco.

They quickly finished their food and headed out of the kitchen. Once in the hallway, they decided to go to bed. 

“Night Malfoy,” said Potter.

“Night Potter,” replied Draco.

Draco watched as Potter walked towards the Gryffindor tower before heading back to the Slytherin dorms. Draco layed in his bed and quickly fell asleep dreaming of more nights with Potter.


	4. Draco and Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so this is a short chapter sorry it took me so long to update. Also, I changed a little detail and made it so the eighth years share a common room. :)

~ Harry ~

In the last week, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter had undoubtedly become friends. It was different to say one thing. They had formed a routine, sit in the library quietly, sneak into the kitchens for dinner and go to bed. It was Thursday evening and classes had just ended. Harry walked into the library and headed for the back. He sat down silently and waited for Malfoy and flinched when a book fell off the shelves. His nightmares about the death eaters had repeated themselves almost every night so Harry had been keeping extra cautious. He hadn’t told anybody, he knew Hermione and Ron would be concerned and he decided that it was hardly their problem. He pulled out a book and read. It was about a Witch who had traveled around England and accidentally discovered fairies. He looked up to see Malfoy walking towards him. 

“Hey, Malfoy,” Harry said.

“Potter,” he said with a nod as he sat down.

They sat mostly in silence, occasionally asking about classes and homework but nothing of import. Harry read until he finished the book and placed it back on the shelf. He stood up and Malfoy followed. They walked down to the kitchen and opened the door. The usual house-elves rushed towards them and asked them what they would like. Malfoy pulled out a table and sat down. Harry followed. They sat and waited for food and in a moment of carelessness Harry placed his hand on the table. He did his best to hide his scars, especially that one. I must not tell lies. He quickly pulled his hand away but by Malfoys shocked expression, he knew it was too late.

“What was that Potter,” he said with concern in his voice.

“Oh… erm…. I have a scar on my hand,” he replied not wanting to show his weakness.

“Let me see Potter,” said Malfoy.

“Um… I don’t like people to see my scars,” Harry stammered.

“Do you think I'm going to cut off your hand or something? Let me see,” Draco insisted.

Harry felt as if no wasn’t an option here. He slowly brought his hand up to the table. Malfoy watched with interest as he did. He grasped Harry's hand and bought it closer to investigate. He looked it over and slowly a look of shock overtook his face. He still clutched on to Harry’s hand before bringing it back to the table and releasing it. He looked up into Harry's eyes and stared.

“How did you get that?” Malfoy asked.

“Detention with Umbridge,” Harry said quietly.  
“You have got to be kidding me, that Bitch,” Malfoy said.

Harry gasped. “I thought you liked her!” he said with shock.

“No! My father made me become one of her little servants!” Malfoy exclaimed. “As if I would ever voluntarily help that evil little cockroach!” 

Harry was laughing now. He tried to catch his breath it was no use. He rolled around in his chair until he finally stopped.

“Ok, Hogwarts confessions,” Harry said excitedly.

“What do you mean?” Draco asked.

“You know tell all the things you’ve done at Hogwarts,” he said, “I’ll start,” “remember that time in the snow when you didn’t know who throwing snowballs at you,” Malfoy nodded, “that was me!” He said with a smirk. 

“I was telling everybody I had been attacked by a ghost! Oh my gosh!” Malfoy exclaimed. “I got one, I made the Potter stinks badges,” he said.

“That was you! Oh, that year was so miserable,” he said with a groan.

“Hey, at least you were rich afterward,” Malfoy replied. 

Harry smiled.

“What……” Malfoy murmured with confusion.

“I gave all my winnings to Fred and George,” Harry said calmly.

“You did what! Potter! Why?” He asked excitedly.

“I didn’t need it,” Harry replied.

“You could need it in the future, idiot Potter,” he said.

“Call me Harry,” Harry responded.

“Okay, Harry I guess you can call me Draco,” said Malfoy. 

“Ooh, I got one, in second year me, Ron, and Hermione, made Polyjuce potion and then disguised ourselves as Crabbe and Goyle to try and figure out who opened the chamber of secrets,” Harry said with a smirk. 

“Oh my gosh! Did you figure it out?” Draco asked.

“We only talked to you and you didn’t tell us anything,” Harry replied.

“I guess I underestimated your little trio,” Draco said.

Harry smiled. They sat and talked a while more, they both laughed and smiled. It was the happiest Harry had felt in months. At midnight they finally went back to the eighth year common room and went to their dorms. 

Harry sat in his bed and tried to fall asleep. He couldn’t. He was too afraid. He didn’t want to have any more nightmares. He layed a little longer and then decided to go on a walk. He threw some clothes on and walked out of his dorm.


	5. Talking at Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has a lot of P.o.v changing :)

~ Harry ~

Harry walked quickly through the common room, not wishing to be seen just in case anybody was there. He moved silently through the halls and out towards the courtyard. He walked through and moved out towards the forbidden forest. He had spent a lot of time there, he liked to watch the animals. It was mostly quiet and peaceful which Harry hadn’t got a lot of recently. Ever since the war, he could hardly go anywhere without being swarmed with people. Harry had never liked being famous, people loved him for being the savior of the wizarding world but hardly anyone truly knew him. He would always have Ron and Hermione but he didn’t want to intrude on their time or become too much of a bother for them. They were happy, Harry didn’t want to ruin it by getting one of them killed. 

It had started to rain slightly as Harry walked. The rain was light and refreshing. Suddenly he heard a noise, a small breaking of a stick but he knew he wasn’t alone. He turned around to face the noise. He saw the death eater from his dream.

“Sectumsempra!” he yelled.

The curse hit Harry hard. He fell to the ground in immediate pain. He managed to slowly raise his wand.

“Stupefy!” Harry managed to yell as he passed out on the forest floor.

~ Draco ~ 

Draco layed awake in his bed un-able to fall asleep. He was cold. He had been almost every night since the war. He sat shivering in his bed, covered in blankets that weren’t helping. He decided to go down to the common room and fall asleep on the couch next to the fire. Not before hearing someone walking out of the dorms and out into the castle. He ignored it and fell asleep.

~ Harry ~

He awoke slowly, quickly noticing the pain in his chest. He was lying in the forest. The moon was still high in the sky. He assumed he hadn’t been out for long. He gathered his strength and stood up. He was in pain. His shirt was covered in blood. He looked around for the death eater that had cursed him but he was nowhere to be seen. Harry moved out of the forest, he tried to heal himself but it didn’t work. He moved quickly towards the common room hoping that no one was out. Finally, he reached the door and said the password as he quickly walked inside. Suddenly he saw someone on the couch.

“Oh crap,” Hary muttered. 

~ Draco ~

Draco woke up to the sound of the door closing. He sat up to see Potter… Harry standing in the doorway covered in blood. Draco heard him mutter something under his breath. 

“Potter what happened to you!” Draco said with shock.

“Nothing,” said Potter defensively. 

“You are covered in blood! What the hell happened?” Draco yelled. 

“I fell!” said Potter…. Harry.

“No, you so obviously did not Po-Harry! What the hell happened?” he said angrily.

“I… um… got cursed,” he stammered. 

“By who!?!” 

“A death eater. He’s trying to kill me to avenge Voldemort.” Harry said plainly. 

“What that’s ridiculous,” Draco was on his feet now. “What curse?” he asked with concern.

“Ummm…….”

“Spit it out, Potter!” 

“Sectumsempra,” he said.

“Thank you,” said Draco with satisfaction.

“Goodnight Draco,” he said and began to walk off. 

“You're kidding, you're not going to bed all bloody like that.”

Harry chuckled. “And why is that?” he asked with surprise.

“I won’t let you.” Harry shrugged and smiled but let Draco grab him by the wrist and began giving instructions.

In his mind, Draco was shocked. He knew how much that curse hurt. He was surprised Harry had been able to stand. He had always known Harry was strong, it was obvious to anyone that saw him, but he had never expected this. He carefully put bandages on Harry's chest. He flinched when Draco touched him. 

“Where were you attacked, Potter?” Draco asked. 

“Forbidden forest,” Potter replied. 

“Why were you there?” Draco asked.

“Went for a walk,” he said casually.

“Why would you walk there?” 

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Draco finished bandaging Harry up and sat back on the couch. Harry joined him.

“Thanks,” he said, “do you think it will scar?”

“Mine did,” said Draco.

Harry winced and looked down at his feet.

“I’m sorry,” he said. There was guilt in his tone.

“It’s fine, I forgave you a long time ago,” Draco said. “I’m sorry too.”

“It’s okay, I did too.”

They talked for hours. Draco could see Harry getting tired. Slowly Harry fell asleep on Draco's shoulders. Draco was happy, for the first time in a while. He brought his arm around Harry's body and pulled him close. He smiled and accioed a book towards him to read. They stayed like that for hours until he saw the light. He shook Harry awake. 

“Wake up.”

Harry yawned and sat up. 

“Sorry I fell asleep,” he said.

“It’s okay,” said Draco.

“Want to get some breakfast?”  
“Sure let's go to the kitchens.”

They walked out of the common room and towards the kitchen. The halls were quiet, no one was up. The house-elves quickly served them their favorite treats. They talked for a while simply enjoying each other's company. Draco thought his heart might explode as he looked into Harry's eyes. 

“Oh my gosh!” Harry exclaimed. He stood up with a look of shock on his face. “I didn’t wake up last night.”

“Yeah and….”

“I haven’t been able to sleep that much in months,” he said with excitement. 

“Really?” Draco felt sorry for the boy in front of him. He had only slept for about three hours last night, even Draco got more sleep than that.

“Yeah! This is amazing!” Draco watched as a smile covered his face.

The rest of breakfast was mainly spent talking about quidditch but it was obvious that Harry was in quite a good mood. They left for classes with the promise to meet up in the library later. Draco was happy and it was all because of Harry Potter. 

“Dammit, why do I have to like that git,” he whispered under his breath as he watched Harry walk away. He spent the rest of the day in a remarkably good mood.


	6. Potter and his books

~ Draco ~

Pansy noticed. She kept giving Draco strange looks whenever he smiled. He hadn't smiled like that in a long time. Judging by the look in her eyes Pansy noticed. He was going to have to explain his mood. That would not be fun. It was inevitable, though. After Charms, she pulled him into an empty classroom demanding answers.

"Explain yourself!"

"I refuse," Draco said cooly.

'Pleassee Draco!" she begged

Draco rolled his eyes and slowly told the story of his last few days with Potter.

"You know it's insane right?" she said, "he's straight."

"I know but I can dream."

"Oh Draco, you helpless pretty boy," she said as she patted his cheek and walked out of the empty classroom.

Draco sighed. His mind was on Harry Potter all the time. Suddenly he started to imagine them in an empty classroom together and quickly brought his thoughts back to the reality where Potter was indeed straight and Draco was indeed a hopeless pretty boy. He walked out of the classroom and headed towards the library. He walked towards the back where Potter was as usual reading. He looked so peaceful when he read, he would be so focused he didn't hear anyone else around him. He remembered when they had first started having dinners together. Harry had casually stolen a book from the library.

"Why do you like to read so much?" Draco had asked.

"It's like a little escape from reality," he had replied. 

Draco had just shrugged. Harry spent every minute of his spare time reading. Draco also liked to read not as much as Harry who loved reading, it made Draco proud for some reason. Harry read all sorts of books. Draco loved to watch Harry read. It was a couple of minutes later when Draco heard a sound. A running noise. He looked out into the darkness and saw two men. Death eaters. They were here for Potter. Draco jumped up and grabbed Potter's wrist. 

"Wha-" 

Draco pointed. Harry pulled out his wand. The death eaters crashed through the windows. Harry pushed Draco on to the floor and began to cast curses at the death eaters. 

"Robberts! It's the Malfoy kid!" one of them yelled. They cursed Harry and sent him flying backward. They looked at Draco expectantly.

"Come on kid," said the one called Robberts. He pulled Draco to his feet before he could respond. He looked down at Harry who was lying on the floor with his back turned away. Robberts cast an Imperious on him, even lying on the floor he shoved it off easily. 

"Come on!" they shouted.

Harry turned his head and faced towards Draco. He looked betrayed. Suddenly Draco made a decision to be the person he had always wanted to be. He pulled out his wand and pointed it toward Robberts. 

"Stupefy!" he pointed his wand towards the other one too and repeated the spell.

He looked back towards Harry who was passed out on the floor. He was bleeding again. Draco ran towards him and scooped Harry up in his arm. He rocked him back and forth in his arms

"Help!" he screamed. As loud as he could. And again, he yelled until he heard footsteps running. McGonagall rushed in with Slughorn shortly behind her. They looked around quickly and examined the situation. Then they saw Draco.

"Who are you holding Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall asked frantically.

"Harry," Draco replied weakly. 

She gasped, "Oh no, get Poppy!" she exclaimed. She ran over and knelt beside them. "Mr. Malfoy what curse did they use?" she asked. 

Draco tried to answer but his voice failed him. It was painful for Draco to see Harry like this. He gripped onto him more closely. 

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Madame Pomfrey rushed in at that moment.

"Step away Malfoy," she said.

McGonagall grabbed Draco and pulled him away. 

"No" he managed to slip out. 

She pulled him into a hug. 

"Come on you need to sleep, Mr. Malfoy," she said and before he knew what was happening they were back in the 8th year common room on the couch where only the previous night he had layed with Harry. He suddenly felt his breath slipping away. McGonagall once again wrapped him in his arms and suddenly he felt exhausted. He let his eyes fall closed and suddenly he was asleep.


	7. The Hospital Wing

~ Draco ~

Draco woke up with a feeling of dread. He recognized the 8th year common room. He looked out the windows. It was night. Late at night. His memories rushed back in an instant death eaters had attacked Harry, Harry had passed out in his arms. Draco suddenly jumped to his feet. He had to find Harry. He ran to the Hospital wing and swung open the door without thinking. Who was with no surprise to Draco, reading. Draco breathed a sigh of relief as he saw him.

"Draco? What are you doing up it's 2:00 am."

"I could ask you the same. Weren't you just cursed."

"Why are you here?"

Draco hadn't really thought about it. "I woke up and I remembered what happened so I ran here to make sure you were okay."

"Was someone worried about me?" he asked in a sing-song voice.

"Don't be such a Hufflepuff."

Draco was of course worried. Harry didn't have to know. He shrugged and continued to read his book. Draco layed back in the neighboring bed and snuck glances at the other boy. He didn't even read for two minutes before he sat up. 

"I'm a terrible person," he said.

"And I'm the savior of the wizarding world," Draco replied sarcastically. He sat up and looked across at Harry. He looked sad.

"I'm not joking," he said.

"How are you possibly a horrible person?"

"I.. I... keep putting my friends in danger, what if you had gotten hurt tonight Draco? Or what if Ron or Hermione had died. That would be my fault. I almost got all of you killed," he finished.

Draco turned to look at him. His head was drooping towards the floor.

"Harry it is not your fault."

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"I should isolate myself, so I'm the only one that gets hurt."

Draco sighed. "When are you going to figure it out? You don't have to protect everyone!"

"But people shouldn't be getting hurt because they know me."

"They won't! It's okay, you don't have to worry about it."

Harry seemed to give up arguing. He just nodded and turned off the light. Draco lay in the hospital bed in silence for quite a while.

"I know this is ridiculous but.... I think I'll sleep better if you lay with me. You don't have to but-"

Draco stood up and walked towards Harry's bed. He layed down beside the other boy.

"Thanks," he whispered.

Harry fell asleep quickly. Draco was about to drift off when he felt Potter's arms wrap around him. At first, he tensed up but he couldn't resist. He felt safe and with that, he relaxed into Harry's touch.


	8. Take a rest

~ Harry ~

Harry woke up with his body sore and tired and too a Draco Malfoy curled up in his arms. He shook the other boy awake carefully.

"What?" he asked with a grumble.

"Time to get up," Harry said.

Draco groaned and sat up. Harry followed and got up. Draco whipped his head around.

"What do you think you're doing?" Draco said angrily.

"Uh... standing," he responded.

"Potter, I am not going to let that happen."

"What? Why?"

"You were just cursed yesterday, you have a giant gash on your stomach, you didn't sleep more than 2 hours last night," he hesitated, "need I go on?"

"So why can't I stand up?"

"You absolute prick, you need to rest!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm fine."

"You're telling me that even though you got cursed," Draco looked at his watch, "8 hours ago, and you're completely fine."

"I mean I have a little cut on my side but I think I'm okay," he said plainly. 

"No, you are not."

"I promise you I am, it hardly hurts."

"If that's true then let me see your 'little cut'," he made little quotes in his hands.

"No, I don't like people to see my scars."

"Come on Potter, let me see."

"We're back to Potter, you literally saved my life last night and you won't call me by my first name."

"Don't you try to change the subject on me, Harry Potter!"

"I'm fine Draco," he said.

"Than show me!"

"No!"

"Show me!"

"You really want to see?"

"Of course."

Harry sighed. He knew Draco was winning this argument. He slowly pulled up his shirt. He watched as Draco's eyes drifted towards his torso. Draco gasped. He knew how it looked. He had scars all over his stomach and chest. His wound from the night before was still fresh across his ribs. Draco reached towards Harry's chest and started tracing his fingers over the scars. Harry winced as Draco brought his fingers over his heart. Draco drew his hand back immediately. Harry pulled his shirt back over his head and met Draco's eyes. 

"See I'm fine," he said.

Draco shook his head.

"You should rest Harry, just... take a rest day."

Harry looked doubtful.

"Do it for me please."

"Fine."

He layed back on the hospital bed and watched as Draco left. He hated resting. He would do it for Draco.


	9. Harry Potter has a saving people thing

~ Draco ~

Potions was his first class of the day. He walked in silently and took a seat next to Pansy. 

"I'm in trouble Pans."

"I know," she replied without looking up. It was getting even harder to keep his thoughts off Harry. He wanted him now more than ever before. He wanted to hold the other boy and stay up all night talking with him and go to beautiful places with him. He wanted to eternally have Harry's warm body wrapped around him. But all of those things would never happen. Draco had accepted it long ago. He sighed and put his head in his hands. 

"What happened now?" she asked with annoyance. She had a right to be annoyed. He had spent years talking about Harry.

"He almost died and he hardly even cared!" he said with anger.

She laughed. "Of course he didn't. This is savior boy we're talking about." He realized other students arriving so he cast a silencing charm around them. 

"Why doesn't he care?"

"Harry Potter has a saving people thing."

He let out a frustrated grunt and put his head back into his arms. The class started quickly after that. It was immensely boring seeing as the only thing Draco wanted to do was watch Harry read. When the class finished he quickly walked into the hallway before he was ambushed by the two people he least wanted to see. Granger and the weasel.

"Malfoy," said Granger.

Draco collected himself before responding. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk to you."

"Fine," he hesitated, "about what?"

Weasley rolled his eyes and grabbed Draco's wrist and pulled him into the empty classroom. He sat down and they looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

Granger stepped towards him. "How did Harry get hurt?" she asked.

Weasley cut in "he said he fell which was so obviously not true."

"Maybe he just didn't want you guys to know," Draco replied calmly.

Weasley glared at him.

"Fine," he hesitated, "should I tell you the full story."

They nodded.

"Two nights ago I was in the common room by the fire trying to sleep, when Harry returned from one of his walks, I looked up to see who it was and Harry was covered in blood. I asked him what happened he said he fell. I pushed him until he told me, it was sectumsempra when he was in the forest."

"Who attacked him?"

"He didn't tell you?" they shook their heads, "it was death eaters, a couple of them were trying to kill them to avenge the dark lord."

Granger's eyes were filled with tears and Weasley pulled her into a hug.

"Wh-why didn't he tell us?" her voice quivered as she spoke.

"I think I know but I have to finish telling the story."

"There's more!" she yelled with horror.

Draco nodded. "Are you sure you want to know."

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Last night we were at the library during dinner like usual and two death eaters broke through the window," he continued slowly, "he pushed me out of the way and they hit him with a curse... hard. They asked me to help them but I cursed them instead. Your friend passed out in my arms with a giant gash over his ribs. I don't know what curse they used. I yelled for help until somebody came."

"Oh my god, poor Harry." 

"Why didn't he want us to know?" asked Weasley.

"Well, I was talking to him last night after the incident. He was in the hospital bed reading. I had gone to check on him and he was reading. He read for a couple of minutes, then he told me he was a horrible person for almost getting his friends hurt. He said..... he said that he thought he should isolate himself so no one but him would get hurt."

"Oh no."

"He's doing his savior thing again," said the weasel. Suddenly Granger grabbed Draco's wrist and pulled him out of his seat. They started running and Draco followed. They ran down a corridor and before he knew it they were in the hospital wing. Harry was gone.

"We're too late," said Granger. She collapsed onto the floor with her head in her hands. "Again." her voice quivered.


	10. In too deep

~ Harry ~

He had to go. He had to isolate himself. He was going away for now. He had to. He was going to find the death eaters and then find a way to get them into Askaban. Hermione would call it rash thinking, maybe it was but he had to do it. So he had just left, not before grabbing the necessities, and swiping a book from the library. He would leave through the forbidden forest and walk as far as he could with the remaining daylight. 

The forest was cold and quiet compared to Hogwarts. He walked quickly wanting to make as much progress as he could. He had walked for about four hours when he finally stopped for a drink. As he poured the cool water down his throat he realized how thirsty he was. He hoped that Ron and Hermione would receive his note saying he had moved back to Grimmauld Place after the incident and that he wanted to be left alone, he had a feeling Draco would figure it out but hardly thought he would care. The faint sun was showing through the trees and the air was fresh. He looked around and observed his surroundings. The sky was pale blue and the ground was fresh with fall leaves. He sat a minute to enjoy the forest and then stood back up to keep going. He still had a couple of hours of walking to do so he got on with it. 

The night was coming. The darkness had surrounded him. He presently stopped in a flat place and took out his invisibility cloak and his book. He had nothing to sleep on except for the floor but he didn't quite care. His body was exhausted. As he searched through his bag he spotted the food he had brought with the sudden realization that he hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday. He had forgotten to eat. It happened a lot but mostly he was able to remember to eat because others were doing so as well. Harry guessed it was because of his past with the Dursleys where he had never had consistent meals. He grabbed a roll from the bag and ate it quickly before lying down and reading until it was too dark to see. He let his eyes slip closed as he escaped into the world of nighttime. 

~ Draco ~

Draco had no idea what Harry's' savior thing' was but it seemed to Granger and Weasley to require immediate action. He didn't say anything when Granger grabbed his wrist and started running. They ran until they reached an 8th year dorm which appeared to be Grangers. There was an envelope laying on one of the beds. She picked it up and read it in silence with Weasley. They whispered something to each other that Draco couldn't make out. Weasley shook his head but Granger ignored it and turned towards him.

"Harry trusts you, so I guess we should trust you too," she said. Weasley grunted.

"What's going on?"

"Harry is doing is savior thing," said Weasley.

"Wha-"

"It means that he is trying to keep everyone safe, that means you, me, Ron and everyone else at Hogwarts. My guess is that he's going to find the death eaters you were talking about."

"That's crazy!" Draco said.

"We know, he's too good. He thinks he needs to protect everyone."

"Why does he think that?" 

"He blames himself for the war," she said.

"It's completely unreasonable," Weasley added.

"Malfoy we need to find him before he gets hurt again."

"How do you know he's gone?"

She held up the letter. "He said he was going to Grimmauld Place and that we shouldn't worry or come check upon him. He's gone."

Draco understood what he meant. The letter was complete rubbish. Harry was not at Grimmauld Place. They could check but they would be wasting time. "So what are we going to do about it?" 

"We're going to follow him and find him," Weasley said.

"He probably went through the forbidden forest, it's where he'd think they'd be."

"Okay," Draco said.

"We need to pack some things and go. We are losing valuable time," Granger said.

"I'll get the tent," Weasley said as he ran out of the room.

Draco watched as Granger packed clothes of all sorts, lanterns, and an incredible amount of food that she had in her room into a bag. She also grabbed a stack of books and an excessive amount of blankets. She packed five more apples into her bag before stopping suddenly and turning to face him. 

"Malfoy....." she asked slowly, "when was the last time he ate."

Draco thought back. It couldn't have been too long. He hadn't eaten while in the Hospital, something which the nurse told him. He hadn't eaten dinner last night, and he had read through lunch. Oh no, had it really been..... "breakfast yesterday."

"He's forgotten to eat again!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the boy only gets hungry after not eating for a week! That he may not have packed food! Oh merlin," she said as she put her head into her hands. Draco decided to comfort her in the only way he could. he carefully reach out and touched her back affectionately. She didn't shrug him off or start yelling, she just stayed still a moment before sitting back up.

"Thanks," she said.

"Anytime. How can someone forget to eat?" 

"It's just what Harry does, he only eats when he is reminded too or when he's on the brink of collapse." 

Draco gasped. How could someone forget to eat? Weasley ran back into the room with a shrunken tent in his hands and he pushed it into Granger's bag. Just like that, they were off again. Walking quickly toward the forbidden forest. It was only 3 o'clock and Granger said they would walk until nightfall. They hardly spoke to each other, leaving Draco to his thoughts. Harry bloody Potter was somewhere in these woods, with a giant gash on his side. They had to find him.

True to what Granger had said they walked until the moon appeared. When they finally stopped they set up the tent and Granger pulled out some food. It was a meager meal if you could call it a meal at all but the other two didn't seem to notice. They hungrily devoured the food before heading towards some bunks. Draco finished quickly and went too lay on his own bed separate from the others. He lay there and let his thoughts drift to Harry Potter. Why did the boy he loved have to be so damn se-_ the boy he loved. _Did he really just think that. It was true the crush was getting stronger and he couldn't stop thinking about Harry but, he shot up in his bed. He was in love with Harry Potter. Someone who would never love him back. Draco groaned to himself and collapsed back down into the bed. He was in too deep, way too deep. 


	11. Missing the warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely sure where this is going but I guess I'm just going with it. :)

~ Harry ~

The forest was cold in the night. Harry hardly slept. He hated to admit he missed the feeling of someone laying next to him, even if that someone was Draco Malfoy. It was a relief to escape from the nightmares and a comfort to have a companion. Both times he had fallen asleep with Draco he had woken up with his arms wrapped around the other boy. He prayed it wasn't too uncomfortable for Draco. He had missed the human contact. Hermione and Ron had been spending most of their time together nowadays and Harry never wanted to be a burden for them, so much so that he had distanced himself from them for a while. They were happy, and they deserved it. He didn't need to ruin it. They had stood so loyally by his side for so long and they deserved it. They were both excellent people, excellent friends. He didn't deserve them. He knew they would say he was never a burden but he couldn't help but feel it sometimes. 

When he woke up he was surrounded by cool air. The sky was heavily clouded and gray. His back was sore and his legs were tired. Harry pushed his glasses on and stood up. He needed to keep moving to find the death eaters. He picked up his bag and the things he had slept on and started walking. He walked until it occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going. The recklessness of his actions suddenly occurred to him. He was alone in the forest, with little food, and no idea what he was doing. Still, he continued walking. One thing he knew was he had to get away from Hogwarts to make sure no one else got hurt. The fall leaves were all around him and he was painfully reminded of last year when he was hiding out int the woods. This was different. More lonely. Less thought out. Less prepared. He kept walking until he reached the base of a hill. He wanted to apparate up it but knew he had to look in every single inch of the forest to find traces of the death eaters. He grudgingly walked up the hill, his body aching, and a lonely pit in his stomach. 

~ Draco ~

He missed Harry's warm body wrapped around him. He missed Harry's smile, he missed the way he chewed on the end of his quill when he was concentrating, he missed the way he loved treacle tart, he missed the way he would spend hours diving into a book. He missed Harry. He groaned as he stood up. The cot had made for uncomfortable sleeping. He walked into the small kitchen to see the weasel and Granger already up and eating some rolls. He sat a the table and stuffed a roll in his mouth. 

"Morning Malfoy," said Weasley.

"Hello, Draco," Granger said calmly. 

Draco nodded in acknowledgment. Granger pushed a paper towards him. It was a map. He opened it and looked at the marks that dotted across the map. 

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Draco asked.

"No he just left, he is going after the death eaters and he won't stop until he finds them," Granger said.

Draco sighed. He wished Harry had left some path for them to follow. 

"We should make a plan," Weasley suggested.

Granger nodded and pulled back the map. "Here's Hogwarts," she said pointing to the map, "he would have left through the forbidden forest because it is where he first got attacked. He probably is moving in a relatively straight path and he had been walking for about half a day so he is probably in this area."

Draco and Weasley nodded at this.

"We need to apparate there," said Draco.

"But we could be completely wrong," Weasley added, "and move farther away from him."

"We have to try," said Granger.

It was true they had too. They all agreed and began packing up the tent. It seemed as if they had formed some unspoken agreement to be civil to each other in order to find Harry. Draco didn't mind, Granger was smart, Weasley had to have some talents, although he still did hear the redhead muttering insults under his breath. Draco had just shrugged it off. Weasley was the type to hold onto grudges. Once everything was packed up they apparated away to find the golden boy. Oh and Draco so wished they would.


End file.
